Xuan Tian Ming would not make it in time to save her. He was too far away, and she was falling too fast. Even if he used his qinggong, there was no way to guarantee that he could save her. Moreover, the two armies were face to face. Based on his status at the general, how could he rush over to the city’s wall.?
In this moment of hesitation, Fu Ya had fallen most of the way down the wall. The sound of her screams filled the air, causing everyone’s hearts to tremble.
Everyone’s attention was focused there, including Feng Yu Heng’s. She even reflexively moved from behind the pile of snow to try and save her; however, it was at this moment that a figure that shot toward Fu Ya from the side of the scene like lightning.
One was falling and one went to save her. It was as though the two were racing. Just as Fu Ya’s clothes made contact with the snowy ground, that person’s hands reached under her and stably caught her.
Feng Yu Heng let out a sigh of relief; however, she furrowed her brow tightly. Ban Zou? Didn’t he go to save Prince Lian? How could he have appeared here?
The person that had saved her was Ban Zou. At this moment, he was holding Fu Ya, looking curiously at the girl in his embrace. Similar, she really did look similar! In the past, he had only heard Feng Yu Heng mention that she had borrowed the name of a girl that looked a bit like her to get into the Illusory Hall. But he never thought that the two would share so many similarities. The girl before him looked almost exactly like Feng Yu Heng aside from missing out on that look of arrogance.
“Who are you?” Fu Ya woke up from her shock. In regards to her being saved from danger, she was truly confused. Moreover, the person before her wore a full set of black clothes. Although his looks were not outstanding, the coldness coming from his gaze was enough to cause people to feel shocked.
“Master told me to come and save you.” Ban Zou looked away, not wanting to say too much. He just added: “It’s the girl that resembles you greatly.” After saying this, he carried her toward Xuan Tian Ming’s army.
Under Xuan Tian Ming’s command, the army had already begun to charge toward the city’s wall. At the top of the wall, the archers had already begun to loose their arrows, causing the arrows to fall like rain, welcoming the charging soldiers. There would always be some that could not dodge in time and ended up suffering some cuts, but there did not seem to be any that fell.
Fu Ya wrapped her arms tightly around Ban Zou’s neck. The panic from having been pushed off the wall was still present. Now that there were glints and flashes from sabers and swords on the battlefield, this girl that had never seen a battle before struggled to breathe. But Ban Zou was extremely fast. Even in this rain of arrows, he could still safely escape. The hands that were holding onto her were also mysteriously calm, and this strength made its way into her heart. Gradually, Fu Ya also found some courage, allowing her to open up her eyes to look in the direction of the city wall.
It was just that when she looked, a great hatred filled her eyes. The scene of her mother and father being killed by Duan Mu An Guo replayed repeatedly in her mind. A fishy-sweet taste surged up her throat, and a bit of blood tricked out from the corners of her mouth before she fainted.
At this moment, Feng Yu Heng had also run over. Xuan Tian Ming soared over and grabbed a hold of her, shouting an order at the same time: “Don’t leave a single person defending the city alive!”
The sound of the soldiers rushing into battle shook the air. Feng Yu Heng held Fu Ya’s wrist then pulled out some heart medicine from her space, sticking it into her mouth. She loudly said: “There’s nothing too seriously wrong with her. Ban Zou, where’s Prince Lian?”
Ban Zou shook his head: “I couldn’t catch up. Duan Mu An Guo’s army had that path blocked off. I couldn’t get through.”
Feng Yu Heng was slightly shocked; however, she could not think too much about it. She ordered for people to protect Fu Ya before moving to join the soldiers in a charge toward the city. Xuan Tian Ming, however, grabbed her hand and said with a solemn expression: “Obediently stay at this prince’s side. If you run astray again, I’ll break your legs.”
Ban Zou was completely in agreement: “Right, both of your legs will be broken.” This wife was truly too difficult to keep under control.
“But…” Xuan Tian Ming’s tone changed, “That fire that you started gave this prince quite a bit of face.”
It had to be said that Duan Mu Cong’s death caused the soldiers of the North to become like headless chickens, falling into utter disarray. On the other side, Feng Yu Heng’s return was like a shot of adrenaline to the heart for Da Shun’s soldiers. Especially for the soldiers from the Northwest that had never met Feng Yu Heng, Feng Yu Heng’s mysterious voice-amplification device along with Duan Mu Cong’s mysterious death left lasting impressions in their hearts.
The Divine Intent Army gradually moved to place Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng in the center. Around the two, there was a very tight encirclement. Because Xuan Tian Ming had given the order to kill everyone on top of the city walls, 200 divine archers had multiple arrows on their bowstrings. Aiming at the top of the wall, they began to shoot. Once these arrows were loosed, they would definitely strike true. With three arrows being shot at a time, those three arrows would hit three different people.
Watching the people fall down from the wall one at a time, they landed on the snowy ground, their limbs breaking and flesh tearing. Feng Yu Heng averted her gaze, not wanting to look any longer. She had once been to a third-world country’s battlefield and participated as a rescue worker. Battles fought using modern weapons were far more debilitating, but for some reason, she still felt that a hail of bullets and artillery fire was still not as shocking as this current scene.
This was the difference between someone else’s battle and her own battle.
This battle did not last very long, and Da Shun’s soldiers did not even finish ramming the gate a third time before someone inside took the initiative to open it up, welcoming Da Shun’s army into the city.
Bai Ze fought while saying: “The ones at the top of the wall are all Duan Mu An Guo’s elite soldiers. They will only acknowledge Duan Mu An Guo and will not acknowledge Da Shun. If they’re killed, it’s fine. But the soldiers down below are ones that were raised by Da Shun. For them to open up the gates shows that they have a conscience.”
With the city’s gates opening, Da Shun’s soldiers all rushed in. The packed crowd immediately divided into two parts. Under the unrelenting charge of the Northwest Army, the northern army’s soldiers gave up their defense. Throwing down their weapons, they kneeled in the snow.
From the moment that the city gates were opened, a long path was opened up by the soldiers. Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng rode on separate horses with Bai Ze, Ban Zou, the Divine Intent Army and the Northwest Army following behind them.
Xuan Tian Ming raised his tiger tally in his right hand. The tiger tally was held in his palm, allowing everyone that he passed to see it clearly.
“This prince, Xuan Tian Ming, is the ninth prince of Da Shun, personally conferred the title of Prince Yu by his Majesty. Today, the order given by his Majesty is to retake the army of the North from Duan Mu An Guo’s control. Every soldier must obey this order. Put down your weapons. Those that do not resist, this prince will view you as my Da Shun’s citizens! You will still be able to protect your families for Da Shun with your fighting spirit. Of course, if there are those that believe themselves to have the blood of Qian Zhou flowing through them because Da Shun recently conquered these lands, you can charge forward! This prince will give you a chance to fight for Qian Zhou. I promise that after you die in battle, I will send your corpse back to Qian Zhou. I will have them sent to Qian Zhou’s ruler to see whether or not your ruler will acknowledge you as citizens. See if he wants to allow your bodies into Qian Zhou’s borders!”
With the army entering the city, the people in the city had lost the battle. With Xuan Tian Ming’s threats, the soldiers did not dare say another word. Although the citizens of Guan Zhou City were all hiding, not daring to show their faces or even breathe heavily, there were still some that were unhappy.
Duan Mu An Guo had submitted to Qian Zhou, and he had played the blood relations card for the citizens. He said that blood was thicker than water and spoke of the hatred caused by the territory being divided for over 100 years. He also spoke of how this divide could not continue, as the later generations would not know this pain.
In order to successfully return the provinces to Qian Zhou, in order to have the citizens accept this outcome, Duan Mu An Guo had already begun to plan for this moment many years ago. He had begun instilling this idea of blood relations in the citizens many years earlier. Like brainwashing, it caused the people that had no feelings for Qian Zhou to begin to yearn for it.
Bai Ze quietly told Feng Yu Heng: “What blood relations. If this was some decades ago, perhaps it could still be said. Now, however, the North has belonged to Da Shun for over 100 years. Just how much of a blood relation can they have with Qian Zhou. What memories could they have of Qian Zhou. It would at most be a story told by the older generations. That little shit Duan Mu An Guo has done a great deal of research into controlling the emotions of others. I really don’t know what method he used.”
Feng Yu Heng analyzed that perhaps this was the beginnings of psychology. Duan Mu An Guo was indeed an expert in this aspect.
Xuan Tian Ming’s army went straight into the city without any resistance. The soldiers began to tidy up the corpses along the way. When Xuan Tian Ming arrived at Guan Zhou Prefectural Office, Qian Li came forward. During this battle, he had fought with three enemies, two of which were caught alive. The injured were already gathered together. Once the army entered the city, they were gathered together for treatment.
In regards to this, Xuan Tian Ming did not have any objections. He just told Qian Li: “Take care of Duan Mu Cong’s corpse. This prince still has a use for it.” After saying this, he got off his horse and pulled Feng Yu Heng into the prefectural office.
This prefectural office was very quiet, and there were not many people; however, it did not seem to be messy. It should not have become bleak because of the commotion outside. Xuan Tian Ming’s group went straight to the main court hall. They just saw an old man quietly kneeling at the entrance of the hall. Holding a scroll in his hand, he quickly looked up upon hearing footsteps and stared at Xuan Tian Ming while he walked over.
Bai Ze stepped forward first, asking the old man: “Who is this kneeling before us?”
The old man, however, did not reply to him. He just stared at Xuan Tian Ming for a long time before asking: “May I ask, would this respected one be the ninth prince of Da Shun?”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “Indeed, that would be this prince. Would this old gentleman be a member of this prefectural office?”
The old man visibly let out a sigh, speaking to himself: “Yes, the ninth prince wears purple robes and has a gold mask. Imperial daughter Ji An is still not yet of marriageable age. That would be you two.” After saying this, he kowtowed to Xuan Tian Ming, “This old one managed to wait for your Highness’ arrival and will be able to live up to lord prefect’s last request before his departure.” While saying this, he raised the scroll in his hand above his head and said: “This old one is an aide in this prefectural office. Before the end of the year, the prefect of Guan Zhou lord Zhao, Zhao Tian Qi, went to Song Zhou to celebrate leader Duan Mu’s birthday. Right before leaving, he dismissed all of the servants here, leaving only this old one behind. This scroll was left behind by lord Zhao. My lord gave an order that this could be handed to three people. Those people were your Highness the ninth prince, his Highness the seventh prince and imperial daughter Ji An.”